A club night has moved from Newcastle to Sunderland, and tomorrow sees two of the best local bands taking to the stage

TWO of the North East’s top bands will form a double bill at a new club night in the region tomorrow.

Yourcodenameis:milo, from Washington, will make a rare appearance in Sunderland at Independent, along with This Ain’t Vegas.

The show will be the first big-name event for Midi, the new club night for Fridays at the Holmeside venue.

Yourcodenameis:milo will be promoting their second album, They Came From The Sun, which was released in April.

This Ain’t Vegas, meanwhile, are regulars on the Sunderland scene, with band members helping run the Cool For Cats retro disco at Independent on Thursdays.

Midi, running from 10pm until late, takes over from Club NME in Independent’s main room on Fridays. Former NME DJ Ju-Lea has, however, stayed on and he will be joining forces with Newcastle DJ Tony Francis. Midi has switched to Sunderland from Newcastle’s World Headquarters.

Tony says: “Independent has the ability to accommodate great DJs and bands, which is extremely important to the success of the night.”

Ju-Lea and Tony will play everything from indie to electro-disco, with bands and tour DJs being a regular attraction.

Tony adds: “Club NME was very much about up-and-coming bands, which is very important for the industry, but Midi focuses more on bands that have already made it. Independent as a venue is too large for the smaller bands – we will be bringing top-name bands and DJs and we’re confident we can fill it.”

Tickets for yourcodenameis:milo, at £6, are available from The White Room and Hot Rats in Sunderland, Reflex, Alt Vinyl, Steel Wheels and RPM in Newcastle, or by phoning 0870 264 3333.

Independent continues to run its Britpop night, Modern Life Is Rubbish, every Friday from 10am until 2pm in its second room. Modern Life Is Rubbish focuses on the 90s, with top DJs playing classics from such giants of the time as Blur, Pulp, Cast, The Stone Roses and Elastica.

The aforementioned Cool For Cats, meanwhile, on Thursday nights, is all about the 80s.

Members of This Ain’t Vegas and Field Music man the decks alongside DJ Search Warrant and the Sagittarius Roadshow.

Independent’s Saturday club night is Music For Misfits, running from 10pm to 3pm. Resident DJ Chris Brackley (Phatplastic) plays everything from classic rock to drum & bass. Entry stamps for Music For Misfits are available from The Ivy House pub, in Worcester Terrace, Sunderland, every week.

For further details, see the venue’s website, www.independentsunderland.com